“Let’s get my family back.”
We moved forward together. The wolves who could still shift did, spreading out through the trees. Those in human form walked with their claws out, ready for round two if it came to that.
We crossed the yard, moving carefully around the spots where traps had been disabled. Every step brought us closer to that cabin. Closer to Knox and Blake and Thomas. Closer to the people who had torn my family apart.
We stopped at the edge of the porch.
The front door was closed. Everything was quiet.
Cole held up a hand, signaling for everyone to spread out. Wolves circled the house, covering every window and door. If anyone tried to run, they’d have nowhere to go.
I took a breath.
Then I stepped forward and reached for the door.
32
— • —
Knox
A Few Minutes Earlier
The garage smelled like motor oil and mud and the faint copper tang of dried blood.
I sat against the wall, one hand cuffed above my head to a metal hook that had probably been meant for hanging tools. Hunt was in a similar position a few feet away, his entire body caked in that thick layer of mud that masked his scent.
I probably looked just as ridiculous. Mary had done the same thing to me, humming that creepy little tune while she worked. We both looked like swamp monsters, covered head to toe in drying mud that cracked every time we moved.
Blake was somewhere in that cabin. My baby girl, probably crying for me, and I couldn’t get to her. Thomas too, Cole’s son, the baby that had been used as bait to lure us all into this mess.
The thought made my wolf pace inside me, snarling and clawing at my control. I wanted to rip through these cuffs. Wanted to tear down the walls with my bare hands. Wanted to find Lucio and Mary and rip their throats out for what they’d done.
But I couldn’t do any of that while I was chained to a fucking wall.
“How long do you think we’ve been here?” Hunt asked, his voice rough.
I tried to figure out the light coming through the dirty window. It had been afternoon when Lucio drove us here. Now it was dark outside, the moon visible through the grimy glass. “Few hours, at least.”
“The pack will be looking for us.”
“I know.”
“Lina will be losing her mind.”
I closed my eyes, feeling the bond in my chest. It was there, steady and warm, connecting me to my mate across whatever distance separated us. She was scared. I could feel that much. Scared and angry and determined.
That was my girl. Even terrified, she wouldn’t just sit around waiting.
“She’ll find us,” I said. Not a question or a hope. It was a fucking certainty.
Hunt grunted. “Hope you’re right. Because I’m getting real tired of smelling like a swamp.”
Despite everything, I almost laughed. Hunt was my Gamma, my best warrior, the wolf who had taken down more enemies than I could count. And he’d been taken out by a syringe to the ass, then covered in mud like a kid playing in the backyard. He was never going to live that down. I was absolutely going to give him shit about it for the rest of his life.
But not now. Now we needed to figure out how to get free.
We sat in silence for a while, both of us listening for sounds from the main house. Earlier, I’d heard babies crying. Blake’s voice and another cry that had to be Thomas. But that had stopped a while ago. Either they’d fallen asleep, or they were in a part of the house too far away to hear.
